


Laboratory Mice

by sirensong413



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Apocalypse, Humanstuck, Multi, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-07 01:39:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/742679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirensong413/pseuds/sirensong413
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We're all just lab rats or something--trapped in one room waiting for the undead to come and kill us all."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Laboratory Mice

**Author's Note:**

> why worry about zombies eating you when you could be learning math after all

“Listen, Terezi, I know that we just met, but-“

Deafening thunks banged against the doors of the closet. They were giving more and more.

“-we’re all probably going to die right now so-“

A gnarled hand shot in through the crack between the doors, viciously clawing at the air. The fifteen-year-old boy jumped and rushed his words.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

The chains holding the door loosened. The owner of the hand could now shove his face through the opening, and the sight of his decayed, peeling flesh made Karkat Vantas’s head spin.

Next to him, Terezi Pyrope shot him an incredulous look. “Karkat, the zombies are about to get in and you confess to me now?!”

“Yeah, I realize that, thanks genius. Last dying wish, I guess?” Karkat feebly shrugged his shoulders. His mind wasn’t functioning correctly, and he was jumpy with adrenaline.

“Well, if it’s a wish…” Terezi grabbed the nearest weapon, which happened to be her slender, white walking stick.

“Then, yes.”

The doors finally gave way, and with a sickening screech, the ravenous swarm flooded into the storage closet, one by one.

* * *

 

ONE WEEK AGO…

Karkat munched on his cereal while his dad anxiously watched the news program. The reporter was dutifully recapitulating the events of last night.

“…residents of Utah have drastically been reduced by the latest outbreak of the infected. They have taken over numerous cities, and the survivors have been safely secured in recovery centers. It is imperative that you keep emergency supplies and food stored in a safe, secure area. Outbreaks are spreading rapidly, and the entire nation is at risk. Please, for your safety, be cautious and watch for any signs of danger. Back to you, Jim.”

Karkat rolled his eyes. “Dad, come on, who watches the news anymore? We all know we’re fucked.”

“You watch your fucking language, kid,” his dad retorted. The remark was half-hearted. “’Sides, you heard the man. Just ‘cause zombies are havin’ themselves a nice lil meal in Utah don’t mean they won’t come to Nevada for some new meat. In any case, you watch your back, son. Now hurry up and pack yer bag. Bus is comin’ in five minutes, and zombie outbreak or not, my son ain’t goin’ to school late.”

Karkat glared from his bowl. “You’re still going to make me go to school? Where I can potentially meet my death as a goddamn breakfast for a corpse? Not sure I meet the nutritional requirements, dad.”

“Well, there sure as hell ain’t nothin’ for you to do at home, now is there? Unless you wanna help yer old man clean out the cellar?” Mr. Vantas raised an eyebrow, earning a horrified shake of the head from his son. “I thought so. I need to start puttin’ food in there in case we get attacked. And where the fuck did I put my knife stash…”

Karkat sighed and grudgingly shoved his notebooks into his backpack. He would probably be the only person in school; everyone else would be sensible enough to stay at home. Whatever, he decided. If there was no one there, he’d just walk to a bookstore or something and blow some time. Hopefully by the time he got back home, the cellar would be finished.

Slinging a strap over his shoulder, Karkat scooped up one last bite of cereal then jogged to the bus stop. Surprisingly, there was a girl already there. Looks like he wasn’t the only one in the neighborhood with stupid parents. The two stood awkwardly at a safe distance from each other. Karkat puffed at his hands. God, the weather was freezing.

“I see I’m not the only one forced to attend school,” the stranger coughed. Ugh, Karkat cursed. Small talk.

“Yeah, my dad’s insane, but that’s not new for me,” He groaned. “Not even an army of the fucking dead will get me out of school, huh.”

“Maybe if you’re one of them, but that’s just a guess,” she chuckled as the bus lurched to a stop in front of them. Without waiting, Karkat rushed into the entrance. He plopped down onto a random seat and struggled to capture as much of his body heat as he could. The girl chose a seat toward the back. As Karkat finally looked around the bus, he could see six other students slouching in their seats. Six students whose parents were either dumb or negligent enough to send them to school. There was silence in the bus, except for the occasional screeching of brakes to let other people on. By the time the bus reached the school, Karkat could count twelve miserable souls, including the girl at the bus stop and himself.

“Alright, kids, here’s your stop. Have a nice day,” the bus driver turned around and recoiled a bit at the sight of so few students. “Eh, I didn’t get this in my schedule…you sure you have school today?”

One of the students, a tall blond girl with thick, blue lipstick, shrugged indifferently. “I’m guessing we do, but 99% of the school was smart enough to skip. If the teachers skipped too, then I’m outta this hellhole.” She sauntered off the bus and headed toward the school gate.

Hesitantly, the others followed suit. The bus sped away as soon as Karkat’s feet touched the ground. The group stood for a minute, not knowing where to go. Except for the twelve of them, the school was a barren wasteland, without a teacher or student in sight. No sounds could be heard except for the slight breeze tugging at Karkat’s sweater. He rubbed his arms uneasily. The school campus suddenly looked haunting and eerie, though he couldn’t see why as there was no reason to be scared. After all, the zombie outbreak occurred in Utah. There was no way they could have reached Nevada by now.

“Should we…go to the principal?” a boy with a mohawk suggested hesitantly. The new sound caught Karkat by surprise.

“What for? So he can send us back home on our merry way?” Karkat retorted.

The boy looked at his shoes. “No, I just thought that he could…like, maybe tell us what to do. We could ask if we can go home considering we’re uh…the only ones here.”

“Alright,” another student sighed. This one had glasses and a slight lisp. “Not like we have anything better to do considering we’re the only ones dumb enough to go to school.”

Sullenly, the group shuffled toward the principal’s office. A shadow caught Karkat’s eye, and he whirled around in fright but quickly composed himself. It was just the lisp boy.

“Calm down, man. Worried the zombies will get ya?”

Karkat reddened. “Shut the fuck up, man.”

“They’re in Utah, so we’re fine,” the boy continued, ignoring Karkat. “I highly doubt that they came to Nevada, much less near our school. So you can chill out now.”

Karkat scoffed. “You think I’m scared of a bunch of corpses who are too stubborn to stay dead? Any moron knows that they won’t come here. Besides, I can fight them off so I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

The conversation died as the group arrived at the door to the principal’s office. No one said a word at first; the matter of who would go in hadn’t been decided.

“I’ll go,” Karkat sighed resignedly. “It’s obvious none of you are willing to do anything but stand there like a bunch of rocks.”

The blond girl from earlier sneered. “Alright then, but get off your fucking high horse along the way.”

“Only if you take out whatever's shoved up your ass,” Karkat shot back. He quickly entered the office before she could reply.

The office was usually immaculate without a paper out of place from the amount of times Karkat had entered it, usually with dread and apprehension. The room he entered, though, seemed like an entirely different world. Papers were scattered all over the desk and floor, and the various knickknacks on the desk were spilled everywhere. Some of the file cabinets near it were open at uneven angles, and one of the picture frames on the wall had shattered glass. Signs of a struggle, he realized. Karkat gulped and peeked under the desk. All too soon, he regretted it.

The mangled remains of the principal lay under the desk, blood smeared on his clothes and the floor. His face was completely mutilated. Chunks of flesh were chewed off, revealing bone. The culprit had been sloppy and hurried; what was left of the principal was now just a rumpled heap of flesh and bone. The sickening sight made him reel with terror. “Oh my God,” Karkat whispered hoarsely. He dashed out of the room and slammed the door.

“What happened? Are you okay?” an Asian girl asked in alarm.

Karkat gasped and just shook his head. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

“What’s got you so paranoid? Let me see,” the blonde girl motioned to the door.

Karkat adamantly blocked the way. “No, just…you don’t want to see it. I’m telling you, we have minutes, maybe seconds to get the fuck out of here and find a place to hide.”

“Hide from what? You still think..?” Lisp boy sighed in exasperation.

Karkat glared at the boy and looked him dead in the eye. “You really want to know? Yeah, I’m goddamn terrified as hell. The principal’s in there, but…” He forced himself to say the rest. “...they got to him. And it doesn’t look like they’re finished. So they could be coming back right now.”


End file.
